Creating opportunities from uncertainty: navigating industrial emergence

Industrial Symposium: 24th and 25th September 2009, Downing College, Cambridge, UK

Workshops

Workshop 1: Decision criteria for navigating technology-intensive emergence

The industrial landscape is becoming increasingly complex and dynamic, with innovative technologies stimulating the emergence of new industries and business models. Based on a framework for mapping technology-intensive industrial emergence, this workshop will provide an opportunity to explore the decision criteria, processes and stakeholder involvement at the various stages and transitions. The focus is on characterising the types of science, technology, application and market ‘demonstrators’ that can accelerate progress to commercialisation.

Speaker: Prof David Williams, Healthcare Engineering, Loughborough University.

Workshop 2: Investment - Funding the commercialisation of advanced technology

This workshop will examine the challenges and opportunities for firms trying to raise investment to bring a novel, advanced technology to market where there is no clearly defined existing industry infrastructure. The workshop will provide an opportunity to discuss the results of on-going research into the range of options available to fund the commercialisation of advanced technology from start-up to scale-up.

Workshop 3: Government-Industry engagement to support emerging industries: regenerative medicine industry as an illustrative paradigm

Emerging industries face several risks that stem from various uncertainties in the policy and regulatory landscape. One of the roles of the government is to reduce uncertainties by active engagement with various stakeholders of a nascent industry. However these engagement processes are diverse and some of them remain uncharacterised. The first half of the workshop will delve into the regenerative medicine sector as an example and highlight engagement processes among various stakeholders in the growth of this industry. Through a breakout group activity, the workshop will then try to characterise some of these engagement processes between industry and government in various other emerging industries.

Speakers:Richard Archer, Satya Dash and Laure Dodin

Workshop 4: Developing a dynamic manufacturing strategy for survival: a start-up's perspective

Technology start-up companies are often vulnerable and prone to failure as they have yet to build up the strength and resources to sustain them through both internal and external challenges. Developing the most appropriate strategy is probably more critical in start-up companies than in established organizations. This workshop draws on the findings of some in-depth case studies in a variety of industries to provide a strategy roadmap for start-up at various stages of their lifecycles.